The man convicted for the murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique “KiKi” Camarena was released early from his 40 year prison sentence after serving just 28 years. A Mexican court ruled that Rafael Caro Quintero should have been tried in a state court instead of a federal court, thus releasing the cartel founder on a technicality.

The DEA fired back by putting a $5 million bounty on his capture. After pressure from the U.S. government, a higher Mexican court overturned the ruling of the lower court, and Quintero is again a wanted man by Mexican authorities.

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Caro Quintero was no ordinary Mexican smuggler or crime boss; he was one of the three founding members of the Guadalajara crime syndicate–the original Mexican cartel. DEA Special Agent Camarena was not just killed in the line of duty–he was kidnapped and tortured. Caro Quintero is believed to have brought medical doctors into the torturing, providing care so that Camarena would live longer only so he could receive more torture.

In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, Mexican cartel and drug war expert Sylvia Longmire stated: “He [Quintero] was one of three who started drug trafficking as we know it in Mexico. He and two other were the ones who began dealing with the Colombians to bring narcotics through.”

Longmire explained exactly why Caro Quintero lost his relevance and did not continue to be the kingpin he had been prior to his 28 years in Mexican prison. The original Guadalajara syndicate decided to decentralize prior to Caro Quintero’s incarceration. Those groups then began infighting for control and territory, thus leading to increased drug violence the world has helplessly watched Mexican citizens endure. “The entire landscape completely changed,” said Longmire.

“Did Caro Quintero get released because someone was really trying to reform the justice system in Mexico, or did someone get paid?” asked Longmire. “On one hand you could look at the fact he could not really play much of a role in the business after 28 years of incarceration and his being so old.”

“On the other hand, look at the torture and murder of Camarena, the millions this Caro Quintera made in drug trafficking, and the sheer numbers of human beings he killed,” Longmire added.